Shop Now View Cart

Petrichor – The secret scent of rain!

Petrichor – The secret scent of rain!

Have you ever predicted rain, just by the scent of it? I know I have. And when it turns out to be accurate, I have taken a full-fledged credit for it as well. I mean, who doesn’t like a good shower after a long dry spell? But for a long time, I felt like there are only a few gifted human creatures who can smell the scent of rain, even before its arrival. Then, one fine day, I came across a report. I would be lying to say that I wasn’t even a little bit disappointed to know that some plants and certain bacteria living in the soil create this smell. The first thought I had after reading? I have to tell you guys about this.

Thus, in this article, I am going to talk about the mesmerizing scent that indicates rain.
As I said, you can detect this smell before the arrival of rain. But it becomes more distinctive after a few fat raindrops hit the ground. So, what creates this smell, you ask? It’s a combination of plant oils produced during a dry spell and the actinobacteria living in the soil. The scent is named Petrichor. Scientists Isabel Joy Bear and Richard Thomas, in an article – published in the 1964 Nature journal – called “Nature of Argillaceous Odour”, first coined this term. But it is not only the particular scent that has a name; even the combination itself also has a name – geosmin.

The actinobacterial decomposition slows down during a prolonged dry spell, and as a result, it slows down the formation of geosmin. But just before rainfall, humidity rises in the air. It speeds up the decomposition procedure, resulting in more production of geosmin. The moment raindrops hit the soil, they splatter tiny water droplets that carry small air bubbles. These air bubbles, which are also known as aerosols, contain the geosmin chemical. These aerosols then amalgamate with other petrichor compounds created by the tree oils and dissolve in the rain. The wind carries these amalgamated aerosols, and with that, it brings the earthy smell that we all like fondly.

But, surprisingly, this is not the only time when Petrichor is created! Nature works in such mysterious ways! Petrichor can be made in another way as well. During a thunderstorm, lightning splits the oxygen and nitrogen molecules present in the air to form nitric oxide. In combination with other elements present in the air, this nitric oxide creates ozone. This has somewhat similar but has more of a chemical smell to it.

On other occasions, the scent just gets carried by the air from a wet weather area, helping us presume the arrival of rain. But no matter the way, this will always remain a unique experience to all the pluviophiles. These simple moments sometimes become the defining moment of life. And just like life, nature also has its way, which is ever so beautiful.

WHAT IS PLANTSCIENCE?

PlantScience blog is an insightful discussion to understand and explain the science behind the great success of plants – how plants live, survive. Nature at its best is a great repository of knowledge and most of it is still a mystery to our minds. However, at Atrimed PlantScience, we have willed ourselves to research, understand the best-kept secrets of Nature and use that knowledge to the betterment of our health. We believe in thinking beyond, knowing beyond and using the best research capabilities to understand the science plants use to live, thrive, adapt and grow. In this blog, you would find details of some interesting plant facts, the science behind them, snippets of history, updates about science and many interesting secrets. Read, subscribe, share your comments about PlantScience with us. Thank you!

PlantScience Logo

You might like our PlantScience skincare offerings that will help heal, restore and nurture your skin in the most natural way – With the goodness of plants in their purest form and in the scientific way possible. Click here to check out our PlantScience store today.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.